The hunt for the most expensive car of all time

Originally, McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray wanted an engine developed by Honda, but when it declined, BMW swooped in and gave us the 6.1-litre V12 we know and love.

Handout, McLaren

1930 Duesenberg J Walker LaGrande Torpedo Phaeton recreation.

Supplied, Wikipedia

This 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale "Kellner" Sports Coupe sold for $9,760,000 at a Christie's auction in London in November 1987.

Courtesy, Christie's

1974 Lamborghini Countach

Supplied, Wikipedia

The exceedingly rare 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO racer was sold by a U.S.-based collector on Oct. 2013 for the princely sum of $52-million. An unidentified buyer forked over the cash in a private transaction. The transaction made this the most expensive car ever sold.

Handout, Ferrari

We all know what the most expensive car ever sold at auction is. But adjusted for inflation, what was the most expensive car sold new?

by
Clayton Seams | June 25, 2014

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We’ve used the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator before to determine what was the most affordable car ever sold in Canada. The result surprised us and motivated us to find out what the most expensive “new” car of all time is. A 1963 Ferrari GTO that sold for an eye watering $52,000,000 (That’s 520 kilograms of $100 bills) is the most expensive car ever sold but we’re trying to answer a different question. Accounting for inflation, what was the most expensive car ever sold new?

This 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale “Kellner” Sports Coupe sold for $9,760,000 at a Christie’s auction in London in November 1987.

1930 Bugatti Type 41 Royale

Cost when new: $43,000

Cost in Canadian dollars adjusted for inflation: $585,173

The Bugatti Royale was an incredible display of wealth. Built more like a train than a car, the Royale had a 12.7-litre straight-eight and weighed 3,175 kilograms. Designed to be the most luxurious car ever, even royalty struggled to cough up the asking price for the Bugatti and of the six built, only three were sold. One person found a dilapidated Royale in a scrapyard in 1946. He paid an inflation-adjusted $5,400 for the car and eventually donated it to the Henry Ford museum.

1930 Duesenberg J Walker LaGrande Torpedo Phaeton recreation.

1932 Duesenberg Model J

Cost when new: $25,000

Cost in Canadian dollars adjusted for inflation: $411,842

The Duesenberg Model J could not have been introduced at a worse time. America was in the middle of a crippling depression, more than 10,000,000 were unemployed and a Duesenberg sold for $25,000 at at time when a doctor made about $3,000 a year. The Duesenberg, also powered by a straight eight, was bought exclusively by industrial tycoons, movie stars, heiresses and royalty. The SJ was a roadster version of the Duesenberg with a supercharger and could arguably be called the first supercar. These cars could do 160 km/h in a time when most cars would struggle to do 80 km/h.

The exceedingly rare 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO racer was sold by a U.S.-based collector on Oct. 2013 for the princely sum of $52 million. An unidentified buyer forked over the cash in a private transaction. The transaction made this the most expensive car ever sold.

1962 Ferrari “250” GTO

Cost when new: $18,000

Cost in Canadian dollars adjusted for inflation: $142,633

It might be the most expensive car presently but when it was new, the Ferrari GTO sold for an almost reasonable $142,633 adjusted. That was still more than the cost of three Cadillacs and buyers had to be approved by Mr. Ferrari himself. Petrolicious recently did a fantastic video on the GTO and it’s well worth a watch!

1974 Lamborghini Countach

1974 Lamborghini Countach

Cost when new: $72,200

Cost in Canadian dollars adjusted for inflation: $355,883

Seventy-two thousand dollars was a staggering amount of money in 1974 and yet $355,883 is still about $100k less than an Aventador costs new. The V12-powered Countach was like nothing before it and it pioneered the mid-engined V12 format that countless other supercars have followed. Ridiculous price or not, we still want one.

Originally, McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray wanted an engine developed by Honda, but when it declined, BMW swooped in and gave us the 6.1-litre V12 we know and love.

1992 McLaren F1

Cost when new: $970,000

Cost in Canadian dollars adjusted for inflation: $1,450,944

By our research, this was the first million dollar new car. Priced at a stratospheric $970,000, some sold for even more than that and today they’re worth around $3 million. The McLaren was a landmark car that wasn’t eclipsed in outright acceleration until very recently and remains one of the greatest supercars of all time.

The open topped version of Bugatti’s fastest car is the most expensive production car you can (can’t?) buy new. Nothing in the history of the automobile comes close to the outrageous prices of today’s hyper cars. Sure the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster is slated to cost $4.5 million, but with a production run of nine units, it’s hard to classify as a production car. The Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse is the top-dollar top-dog for now but the price of new supercars seems to know no limit and increases every year. This makes the Bugatti Royale look like a bargain, doesn’t it?